Church in Hong Kong expected to remain bridge between Vatican and Beijing

The Hong Kong Catholic Church has said it will continue to serve as a bridge between mainland China and the Holy See, while observers expect the local diocese to further foster the more harmonious Sino-Vatican ties built by Pope Francis, who died on Monday. Expressing condolences over the pope’s death, foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday that Beijing and the Vatican had maintained constructive contact and conducted friendly exchanges, and the central government was willing to work with the Holy See to promote the continued improvement of relations. Dr Anthony Lam Sui-ki, a former researcher of the Catholic diocese’s Holy Spirit Study Centre in the city, said he expected the Hong Kong church’s voice to get bigger in the Vatican leadership under the next pope. “No matter who becomes the next pope, the Vatican and Beijing will be moving towards a more harmonious and conciliatory relationship. It seems to have been the general policy of the Vatican in recent years,” said Lam, an expert in Catholic affairs. “It is generally believed that the Vatican will hear more about what the Hong Kong diocese will have to say in this respect.” Lam also pointed to the warm ties Hong Kong Catholic leader Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan had with the mainland, saying he had helped to foster dialogue and understanding. “In the about four years since he was appointed bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Chow has worked to foster communication between his diocese and other dioceses in mainland China,” Lam said. Chow has visited the mainland at least three times since becoming bishop, heading to Beijing in 2023 and to Guangdong province in April last year. He visited Shanghai earlier this year. In September 2023, Francis invited Chow and retired Hong Kong bishop Cardinal John Tong Hon to his side during a mass in Mongolia, holding their hands as he extended a warm blessing to the Chinese people. The head of the Hong Kong diocese has always had a role as a bridge between the Vatican and the official church on the mainland, as well as a link with the church in Taiwan, according to Lam. Francis appointed Chow, 65, as a cardinal in 2023. He has been the bishop of Hong Kong since 2021. In a reply to the Post’s inquiries, a spokesman for the Hong Kong diocese said it would continue its role as a bridge between the mainland and the Vatican. Lau Siu-kai, a consultant with semi-official think tank the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said Sino-Vatican relations would not reverse regardless of the next pope. “During the visit to Mongolia in 2023, Francis passed through Shanghai and extended his blessings to the Chinese people. While it’s true that diplomatic relations between China and the Vatican were not established during his leadership, he consistently displayed a friendly attitude towards China,” Lau said. “For the Vatican, China represents a significant potential source of future worshippers for the growth of the Catholic faith. Given the Vatican’s apparent intention to improve relations with China, I doubt the next pope will deviate from this course.” In 2018, Beijing and the Vatican achieved a historic agreement under Pope Francis to find a compromise on the appointment of bishops, but Lau noted that there was still a long way to go before diplomatic relations between Beijing and the Vatican were established as long as the Holy See still recognised Taiwan. “Under Chinese rule, our Catholic Church in Hong Kong remains affiliated with the Holy See in Rome and is not under the authority of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association,” he said. “I believe the only role of Hong Kong, to some extent, is to facilitate exchanges between the Roman Catholic Church and the Patriotic Church.” Professor Lai Pan-chiu of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s cultural and religious studies department described Chow’s visit to Beijing in April 2023 as a small step forward in the relationship between Beijing and the Vatican during Pope Francis’ papacy. Chow met the city’s archbishop and the head of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. The trip marked the first official visit by a Hong Kong bishop to the Beijing diocese since Cardinal John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung went there in 1994. But Lai said he did not regard it as a breakthrough in Sino-Vatican relations. He said that while the Holy See would continue to strive to normalise its relations with Beijing, the new pope might have a different approach, and the central government might not make it a priority amid the changing political landscape. But Lai said he believed that Hong Kong would not have a bigger role to play in facilitating ties between the Vatican and Beijing amid the escalating US-China tensions. “At most, what Cardinal Chow can do is to facilitate the mutual communication and exchanges between the two sides,” he said. Francis had often expressed his hopes of visiting China, and had drawn controversy on his prudent approach in handling sensitive issues relating to Beijing. In 2020, the media revealed that Francis had strayed from the script in a regular Sunday address to avoid mention of Hong Kong’s religious freedom in the wake of the national security law, with critics accusing the pope of bowing to pressure from Beijing. Other experts said they believed it was a calculated move by the pope to release his concerns informally – and avoid being perceived as “meddling with domestic affairs”. In 2022, when the city’s national security police arrested Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun as part of an investigation into a relief fund for people involved in the 2019 anti-government protests, the Vatican was criticised for being too mild in its reaction. “The Holy See is concerned upon learning the news of the arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, and is following the evolution of the situation extremely attentively,” the Vatican said at the time. Additional reporting by Danny Mok

Church in Hong Kong expected to remain bridge between Vatican and Beijing

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Vatican and Beijing will be moving towards a more harmonious and conciliatory relationship, no matter who the next pope is, expert says

Vatican and Beijing will be moving towards a more harmonious and conciliatory relationship, no matter who the next pope is, expert says